As a few people have mentioned before, posting a picture of your current space would really help! Painting your cabinets is, of course, an option (milk paint and chalk paint are two durable low-VOC options). However, I'd try a few simpler strategies first. 1. Backsplash. Try cutting sheets of beadboard to fit in that space. If your current backsplash is anything other than white, white beadboard will brighten it up quite a bit. 2. Mirrors. Do you have an area of wall where you can hang a mirror? To outsiders it may seem vain to hang a mirror in your kitchen, but reflecting what little light there is can really make a difference! 3. Appliances. Someone mentioned it before - black appliances will make the space seem darker. 4. Window. If you have any valances or window hangings, take 'em off! And check outside, too, for anything that's blocking light. 5. Upper cabinets. If you have ample storage space, consider removing a section of your upper cabinets. This is especially true if they're hanging over a peninsula or island. Other options in this vein include removing the doors on a couple sections, using glass inserts (frosted if you're worried about keeping things tidy), or replacing a run of uppers with open shelving. Or you could paint them. 6. Lowers. Cherry darkens over time/exposure to light, so it might be possible to lighten the tone by refinishing them and then sealing without a stain. 7. Counters. Replacing perfectly-good granite would likely be as expensive or more so than for professionally painted cabinets, but I think it would yield better results. Not an ideal solution, but still keep it in mind. 8. Flooring. Short of replacing your floor (what is your flooring, by the way?), try a couple of light-colored throw rugs. 9. Connections. How does your kitchen connect to the other rooms in the house? You mentioned you are in an historic district, so chances are you don't have an open floor plan. Do any of the adjacent rooms have natural light to spare? "Borrow" light with French doors or transoms above. Or remove a door completely (where it makes sense, of course), leaving a cased opening. 10. Declutter. A lot of extra stuff can make even a well-lit space seem claustrophobic. However, a few well-placed objects (especially reflective surfaces like a silver platter, or a small lamp for a dark corner) can brighten the room without having the overhead lights blazing. Let us know what you decide to do!

Are you remodeling because the kitchen is dark, or for some other reason? If only because of the lighting issue, there are many solutions to that, and some have been suggested already. I don't think borrowing light from the sunroom is going to be helpful. Pass thru openings aren't a good solution unless the room you're borrowing light from is super bright, and you'll lose storage; plus you have 2 doors that swing into that wall. They'll be awkward if hung to swing in the opposite directions. Painting the walls a lighter color with higher LRV will help, as will a new, brighter backsplash, and possibly a new lighter countertop.. No one has mentioned LEDs above the cabinets, but that can be helpful too. If you can't increase the window size, maybe you can add a skylight above the sink area. At the least, dropping a pendant closer to the work area should help. Painting the island to match the other cabinetry will increase brightness as well. Love the floors!

Can you share your budget for changes? Your kitchen is very pretty, but I can see how insufficient lighting and dark cabinets could be frustrating. (I love the cabinets by the way.) I do think some brushed nickel hardware can add a bit of bright jewelry to your kitchen, but it won't make a big difference in the overall brightness of the space. In terms of lighting, I think megs1030's suggestion for under cabinet lighting is a great one. That would probably make a pretty substantial difference. Consider hiring an electrician to add recessed lighting in the ceiling. It kind of looks like there might already be one fixture near your ovens. You could consider painting the walls a lighter color. What you have now looks really nice with the finishes, but it's a mid-tone color so something light would bring some more brightness to the space. You could replace your countertops with something much brighter - closer to white. Obviously that would be a substantial cost to replace what are already lovely countertops just to bring more brightness to the space. Probably much more cost effective to just add lighting. One more suggestion that is a bit of a personal choice: you have a lot of items on your countertops. It's not messy or cluttered in any way, but there are a lot of items that could be tucked away potentially. I find my kitchen looks brighter when the countertops are almost completely clear. Put your knives in a drawer instead of a countertop block. Put whatever appliance that is over the dishwasher into the pantry. Put the oils into the pantry or in a cabinet. Obviously this changes the function of your kitchen so it may not be for you.

Looking for some suggestions! I would love to do some work with the kitchen. Backsplash? Color? Window treatment? Would like to try and lighten it up, but unsure how with the granite color!